It was 5.00 pm on my second day at Pulau Tiga. I just finished all my works on that day and decided to have a walk to the Pulau Tiga jetty belonged to Sabah Parks. At the end of the jetty, I saw some of the Sabah Parks staff and their family members busying themselves with their own activities. The men and their children were catching fish while their wives and daughters just enjoying chatting to each other. At the corner of the jetty, there was a man sitting alone on a bench looking over the sea. My feet dragged me to his place and asked him whether he allowed me to sit next to him.“Thanks Pak Nizam. How’s your day?”
“Everything is fine for me here.”
“How is your work Dency? Get any magpie-robins today?”
“Ok but I only got two.”
“There is a tomorrow for you. I’m sure you can get more birds.”
He just smiled and assured me everything would be fine. I asked him again about his life as a Sabah Parks worker in Pulau Tiga.
“Pak Nizam, don’t you get bored working here? It’s so far away from the mainland. How about your family ?”
“No. I never get bored. I’ve been working here for 25 years ago. Cut grasses and clean the park every day. I always come back to Kuala Penyu on Friday. So I will spend two days with my family members. They are used to it. All my children are grown up now. My eldest son is working with Sabah Fisheries Department. The rest are doing ordinary jobs. My youngest daughter is starting a home-based sewing business. She finished her sewing course a month ago”.
Pak Nizam told me that my parents are so lucky to have a smart daughter like me. He wished all his kids followed my footsteps. I just said to him that everybody has his or her own destiny and it is up to him or her whether to take the chance or not. He nodded his head agreeing with my opinion. I asked him again about the Survivor Borneo that was filmed 10 years ago.
Survivor Borneo and sunset moment
“At that time we have to close this island to tourists for two months. The producer spent more than a billion US Dollar for this shooting. I could still remember all of us became audiences during the voting nights. One by one the participants were voted out from the game. There was an old lady; I could not remember her name, cried after she was voted out. We just sympathized at her and sat there quietly.”
“Can you tell me where is the voting chamber?”
“The voting chamber was located by the big public toilet. You are not going to see it as we already demolished it five years ago. You can only see an empty grassy area surrounded by trees.”
“I see.”
“Well Dency, why don’t you go to the mud volcano? I’m sure you will like it.”
“Yes, I will once I finish my sampling.”
“Dency, would you like to join all of us to catch some fish?”
“Yes, sure.”
I spent the whole evening with all of the staff and their sons catching some ocean fish while taking sunset pictures. When I saw their happy faces, I knew that they enjoyed their life so much. I wished I could be like them and enjoy every moment of my life. For me they were the true survivors of Pulau Tiga.
**********
“Life is what we make it, always has been, always will be.”
By Grandma Moses
3 comments:
father and my brother
my mother is a red shirt who did not wear hats
All of your family members were nice to me when I was in Pulau Tiga. Small children liked to help & learn about birds from me. Send my regards to them...
Post a Comment